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iSqFt, a leading Web-based construction software provider, and the construction industry’s largest online bid solicitation services company, gives tens of thousands contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and allied businesses the ability to capitalize upon the inherent advantages of Internet and online communications and document distribution and turn them into competitive advantages. 

Working in conjunction with our strategic business partners, iSqFt is building local online construction communities, and a national network of Internet Plan Rooms, and Private Construction Offices that provide construction project information, bidding and estimating software, and communication tools to the construction community.  iSqFt products and services minimize the inefficiencies and reduce the hard costs associated with the bidding and estimating phase of the $400 billion U.S. commercial construction industry.

The Private Construction Office

It is a misnomer to label the Private Construction Office as simply a “web site.”  Rather, it is a highly sophisticated, business web service application that leverages the power of the Internet and digital communication. It is focused exclusively on minimizing the inefficiencies of the bidding and estimating phase of the construction process and delivers real, hard cost reductions to general contractors. These cost reductions and increased efficiencies translate into quantifiable competitive advantages.

Most notably, general contractors using the Private Construction Office report reductions of tens of thousands of dollars related to bid document printing and distribution. Furthermore, these same customers also point to receiving more qualified sub bids on bid day as another bottom-line benefit.

Within a Private Construction Office a general contractor uploads all the critical documentation related to an upcoming project. In addition to project plans, specifications and addenda notifications, contractors also post such information such as current construction schedules, meeting minutes, site photos, RFIs or even pay request forms.

Posted information is secure and access to it is controlled by the Construction Office Owner, who decides who on a project team can see specific documents and from whom certain documents are hidden. The default security setting enables only those people specifically invited to a project being allowed to see any project information or documents posted inside that project.

The Private Construction Office empowers the general contractor to act as an electronic publisher of project information.  Typically, after importing its database of subs and posting a project’s information, a general contractor’s first step is to use the “Invite to Bid” tool to generate e-mail or fax invitations to selected subcontractors and suppliers to bid on a project. 

Subcontractors and suppliers are able to view or download project plans and specifications from the Private Construction Office, thus eliminating the need for the general contractor to have project documents reproduced and delivered to the large number of potential bidders on a project. This capability can save a medium sized contractor thousands of dollars each year.  As addenda are created for a project, an automatic email and/or fax message notification is sent to all subcontractors or subscribers who are affected by the change. Communications tools built into the Private Construction Office make it easy for general contractors to share information with subs, suppliers and the design team electronically, further saving time and money.

Adoption & Growth Deliver Bottom-line Results

Contrary to earlier held assumptions that subcontractors and suppliers would resist using online and Internet-based tools such as the Private Construction Office, practical results paint an opposite picture. In 2003 alone the equivalent of 29 million blueprint pages were viewed, downloaded or printed by subcontractors, either as a direct result of access to a Private Construction Office or as a subscriber to an Internet Plan Room. To put his into perspective, if laid end-to-end, the number of blueprint pages would stretch halfway around the Earth at the equator.

Not surprisingly, nearly 100 percent of respondents to an October, 2003, Internet Plan Room survey of subcontractors and suppliers indicated that they viewed plans and specs online.  Most notable may be the fact that nearly 38 percent said they were also conducting onscreen takeoffs, either with the iSqFt optional Toolbox estimating software add-in or with some other estimating package.

The practical implication of this growing adoption by subcontractors is that it gives general contractors an efficient way to expose more people to critical project information (plans, specs and addenda) earlier in the bid window. As a result, Private Construction Office subscribers report receiving more qualified, competitive bids on bid day.

The Internet Plan Room

A local Internet Plan Room is a focused business web site for subcontractors and suppliers that houses publicly bidding project information, including blueprints, specifications and addenda notifications.  This material is scanned and uploaded into the Internet Plan Room with online access available through a subscription granting coverage on a local, regional or statewide basis.

Many local markets have introduced an online project listing service in conjunction with the Internet Plan Room.  Information such as bidding general contractors, design firm, project size and scope is included in these listings.

For the subcontractor and supplier, the Internet Plan Room is a powerful tool for finding new work.  The Internet Plan Room enables subscribers to conveniently view public plan room projects 24 hours a day, seven days a week from their home, office or remote location via the Internet.  The Internet Plan Room provides subscribers with a powerful search and query capability that enables them to quickly identify projects that meet their specific geographic region or criteria of interest.  Plans and specifications that reside in the Internet Plan Room—as in the Private Construction Office—can be viewed online immediately.

The iSqFt Network

iSqFt has developed a comprehensive market strategy that uses the ability of Private Construction Offices and Internet Plan Rooms to seamlessly share information with one another. This forms a catalyst enabling general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to work together more efficiently during the bidding phase, driving cost and waste out of the process. This communication and information sharing capability forms the core of the iSqFt Network.

Subcontractors, suppliers and other construction professionals access the Network through a subscription to a local Internet Plan Room, which gives access to public construction project information as well as private work in Private Construction Offices that the subscriber has been granted access to by a General Contractor. The Internet Plan Room contains a toolset which includes query and search functions, keyword searches on specification documents, instant addenda notification and a scrolling window that displays notifications/messages from GC’s related to projects housed on iSqFt.

The Network brings an additional benefit to all participants.  Through its query capabilities, the general contractor can search the subcontractor database to locate qualified prospective new bidders for upcoming projects. Similarly, subcontractors and suppliers can search the database of Construction Offices for new general contractors with whom they might develop a business relationship, and can introduce themselves with a request to be added to the GC’s vendor database with a click of the mouse.

This network of projects and construction professionals provides a wealth of new business opportunities and building relationships throughout the industry.  By creating new bid and sales opportunities to all segments of the industry, iSqFt provides cost savings and revenue growth opportunities to all of its subscribers.